Ba. Xu et al., SYNTHESIS AND PHOTOCHROMIC MECHANISM OF S[2,5-DIMETHYLTHIOPHENE-3-YL]-2,5-DIHYDROTHIOPHENE, Journal of photochemistry and photobiology. A, Chemistry, 110(1), 1997, pp. 35-40
A novel photochromic compound, s[2,5-dimethylthiophene-3-yl]-2,5-dihyd
rothiophene (BT), has been synthesized. The photochromic reactions of
BT in a polar solvent (acetonitrile) and a non-polar solvent (cyclohex
ane) were investigated by means of steady state absorption spectra and
time-resolved transient absorption spectra. The maximum absorption wa
velengths of BT in acetonitrile and cyclohexane are at 232 and 233 nm,
respectively, and the maximum absorption wavelengths of the photocycl
ization product (CBT) in acetonitrile and cyclohexane are 445 and 453
nm, respectively. Upon irradiation with ultraviolet light, BT is first
excited to the excited singlet state, and then to the excited triplet
state via inter-system crossing. Only the excited singlet state gener
ates CBT. The excited tripler state, which has maximum absorption wave
length at 390 nm, decays rapidly to the starting compound (BT) alone.
(C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.